NATHANIEL BEACH ‘20
Staff Writer
How did your parents show you that they loved and cared for you? Did they spoil you with monetary possessions and goods? Or did they teach you and give you the tools necessary to succeed in life? If your parents are anything like mine, then you received the latter. My parents didn’t spoil me and give me whatever I wanted. They taught me to work for what I desired, and they helped open up opportunities for me. I’m sure your parents or guardians did the same for you as well. Now, take this concept of parenting and let’s apply it to a much larger scale: our government. The Federal Government acts as the parents and we, American citizens, are the children. The government believes that in order to show it cares for the people it should spoil us and give monetary handouts. Our government does not give us the tools necessary to succeed. The federal government obviously does not know how to show it cares, or it chooses not to care. The government needs a wakeup call and should fix what it has destroyed. Welfare should be eliminated.
The welfare system was implemented as a way of helping those who are unemployed, so they can survive to find a new source of income. The concept is great, however, the system has deteriorated. Under the Obama administration, welfare spending increased 32%, and yet the poverty rate stays the same. The increase of spending on the welfare system is at the expense of the middle and upper class citizens. This system is paid for by the taxpayers and more and more money goes into a system that gives one result: a larger debt, and a poverty rate that remains unchanged. It is hurting everyone. Welfare is not helping like it was intended. What should be done is something bold and innovative. The crippled welfare system should be eliminated except for extreme instances. For those who are physically and mentally incapable of working, they should receive some government assistance. During extreme economic disasters, such as the 2008 market crash, assistance should be given out from an emergency relief fund. What should be done on normal occasions, however, is much more helpful for the poor than what we have now. Instead of giving a sense of false security to the impoverished in the form of handouts, the money should be allocated to rebuilding the poor cities. Now if we use the welfare money to rebuild these areas, they will become cleaner and safer. Businesses will be more likely to move to these areas, and jobs will open up. Businesses should be given incentives to hire these citizens, with tax reliefs or subsidies. It will give the poor the tools necessary to succeed and will lead to an increased economy. The poor will finally be able to find work and will receive training and experience that will allow them to move up the “career ladder” and become successful. No longer will the impoverished have to rely on the government to do a lackluster job at helping them, they will be able to succeed on their own and all it takes is a simple change.
I love the show “House of Cards.” And to quote Kevin Spacey’s President Frank Underwood, “You are entitled to nothing.” Now this quote really resonated with me. Because it’s blunt but true. We aren’t entitled to anything. We have to work to succeed. We were raised under this philosophy by our parents. We cannot rely on the government to solve all of our problems. We have to solve them ourselves. The American people are not entitled to handouts. They must work to get what they deserve. We are entitled to nothing. God bless America.
Nathaniel Beach ‘20 is a politics, philosophy, and economics (PPE) major from Columbus.Ohio.